Air conditioning



arch 14, 1944:. ALTENKlRCH 2,4,384

' AIR CONDITIONING I Filed Jan. 6, 1938 6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Edmund Alzenlrirc/z ATTORNEY arch 1944- E. ALTENKIRCH 2,3

AIR CONDITIONING Filed Jany6, 195s e Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIIIIII'IIIIIII:

INVENTOR Edmund Allenkirclz BY s'MM ATTORNEY March 14, 1944 E. ALTENKIRCH AIR CONDITIONING Filed Jan. 6, 1938 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 x KN Wm N w m P A.. w m

ATTORNEY March 14, 1944. E L E IRCH 2,344,384

' I AIR CONDITIONING Filed Jan. 6, 1938 r 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 L? INVENTbR ['a'muna' Allen/ limb A'II'TORNEY Patented Mar. 14, 1944 AIR. CONDITIONING Edmund Altenkircli, .Neuenhagen, near Berlin.

Germany; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application January 6, 1938, Serial No. 183,581

In Germany January 6, 1937 16 Claims. (01. 183-4.?)

This invention relates to an air conditioning apparatus and method of. conditioning air having many novel features not heretofore known.

By means of the air conditioning apparatus disclosed in the accompanying specification, I am enabled to perform several steps in the conditioning of air and other gases in an especially simple and expedious manner whereinthe cost of the energy required is maintained ata minimum. In general, the invention involves the use in a novel manner of two series of chambers containing air conditioning bodies in which one series of chambers serves to condition air while the conditioning bodies of the other series is being reconditioned to supplant the first series after the effectiveness thereof in conditioning'the air has been reduced.

Heretofore, it has been the practice to employ this general method of conditioning air, but the apparatuses have been very large, heavy and ineficient. More particularly, it has been necessary to either actually exchange the positions of the bodies newly activated and those to be activated, or to exchange the stream of air being conditioned with that used to reactivate the bodies of material. The former typeof apparatus necessitates a complex construction and a large source of power for bodily moving the greater part or all of the apparatus periodically. The latter type avoids this very considerable disadvantage but exhibits other disadvantages which are common to both types. For example, in both types of conditioner, the condition of the air delivered by the apparatus varies constantly due to the fact the condition of the material over which the air flows is continually changing from one of maximum effectiveness to one of minimum effectiveness. This follows from the fact that the active and inactive bodies of material are interchanged periodically as a group.

According to this invention, I propose to arrange the conditioning material in a plurality of v chambers connected to operate consecutively in two banks. Moreover, the two banks are so arranged and controlled that there are always bodies of conditioning material in each one thereof of varying degrees .of effectiveness. Thus, in one bank, there are bodies of material of varying degrees of effectiveness in conditioning air. Likewise, there are bodies of material in the other bank in varying stages of reactivation.

Another disadvantage of prior art devices of the general class in which the present invention may be grouped is that in some constructions part of the air being conditioned passes over newly reconditioned material while another part passes Likewise, if the treating chambers are charged only over material which is practically inefiective in conditioning the air. Obviously, the resultant stream of air is only partially conditioned.

According to this invention however, the air or gas being conditioned is passed over all bodies of material capable of conditioning the air in any degree. Hence, the resultant stream of gas delivered-by my apparatus is conditioned to the maximum degree possibly limited only by the effectiveness of the material within the conditioning bank. And, of course, all portions of the stream are uniformly conditioned.

A still further undesirable characteristic of prior constructions is that the conditioning bodies are so arranged that it is necessary to employ large fans operating under high pressures in order to circulate the air over and through the conditioning material. According to my invention, the conditioning material is arranged in an especially novel and advantageous manner whereby a very large surface area of the material is exposed to the air stream in a minimum of space and in such a way that the pressure gradient through the material is only a fraction of that v common to known constructions.

- Another feature of my invention is that the same housing and valve mechanism can be utilized either as a regenerative heater, or as a gas separator or dryer depending upon the type of conditioning material with which the gas treating chambers are charged. Thus, if the chambers are charged with material having a high heat capacity, the apparatus may be employed as a regenerative heater as is advantageously done where hot gases are available which can not be used directly to heat a space or some object.

with absorbent material, then the apparatus may be used to separate gases provided one of the gases is not absorbable by that particular ma terial.

And of course one of the particularly advantageous applications of the invention is in air conditioning a room or other enclosure by the conjoint use of one of the apparatuses charged to act as a regenerative heater and another of the apparatuses charged to act as an absorber or dryer. In this event it is possible to. condition an enclosure without the expenditure of energy other than that necessary to operate the valve mechanism. However, if the relative humidity of the air to be conditioned is greater than fifty per cent it is desirable to supply some energy in the form of heat in order that the apparatus may operate with the greatest efiiciency as will appear ciated cams;

moreclosely from the detailed description of the invention,

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide an air conditioner which is chargeable to act as a gas separator or a regenerative heater. Another object of the invention is the use of both a regenerative heater and a gas separator along with certain auinliary devices connected in such a way as to condition air in a very efficient and inexpensive manner. It is likewise an object of the invention to provide connections and control means between the various parts of the apparatus and the auxiliary devices whereby only so many of the latter may be employed as is necessary 'to obtain the desired degree of air conma- I ditioning with a minimum expenditure of terials and energy.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an air conditioner wherein the only moving parts are the valve mechanisms and the actuating means therefor.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an air conditioner apparatus operating continuously. More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus which supplies a continuous stream of air uniformly conditioned.

A further object of the invention is to construct and position the conditioning material within the apparatus in such a way; as to expose a maximum surface area of the material to the gases with a minimum pressure drop between th air inlet and the air outlet. r

one manner of arranging the absorbent material in the apparatus;

Figure 12 is a fragmentary view of an altemative method of arranging loose absorbent material in the apparatus; 3

Figure- 13 is a fragmentary view of a third way of arranging absorbent material, such as crepe,

most eflicient operation when the humidity is Another object is to provide a novel arrange- 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view along line .33 of Fig. 1 showing one of the valve operating assemblies in one operative position;

Figure 4 is a view of one of the valve assemblieswith the valves in a second operative position;

Figure 5 is a view of one of the valve assemblies in a third operative position;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in perspective of one, of. the valve operating shafts and asso- Figure 7 is a perspective view of one of the conditioner units showing how the apparatus has been unfolded for purposes of illustration in Figs. 8 and 9.

Figure 8 is a developed view of one of the units unfolded in the manner indicated in Figure 7, and showing the positions of the various valves and the gas circuits ditions;

i ure 9 is a view similar o Figure 8 but showing the positions of the valves and the gas circuits under the next operative set of conditions after that shown inFlgure 8:

Figure 10 is a perspective view of one way of arranging the conditioning material of high heat capacity for use in the regenerative heater- .Figure 11 is a fragmentary perspective view of relatively high.

A preferred form of the invention is shown in Figures 1 and -2 as encased in an octagonal prism housing 20 having an outer heat insulating wall 2! and an irmer heat insulating wall 22. As will be seen in Figure 2, rings 23 and 24 of heat insu lating material serve to close the top and bottom ends of walls 2! and 22 and cooperate therewith to form an annular air conditioning chamber.

Within the annular shaped air treating chamber are located eight individual conditioning chambers A, B,.C, D, E, F, G and'H which are circumferentially spaced from one another by air passages. Each of the air conditioning chambers or cells is similar in construction and manner of operation, and consequently detailed description of one of these chambers will suflice for all.

Referring to chamber A, for example, it will be seen that this chamber consists of an outer wall 25, an inner wall 26, and two diverging side walls 2! and 28. Any desired conditioning material such as nested corrugated sheets'29 may be arranged to extend between the side walls 21 and 28, and is spaced from the inner and outer walls 26 and 25 as'indicated in Figure 1. The particular manner in which this material is arranged in each of the chambers will be described in detail hereinafter.

As will be observed from Figure 1, the conditioning material 29 is spaced from both the outer wall 25 and the inner wall 26 to provide air entrance and exit passageways 30 and 3i. area plurality of air passageways which may be placed in communication with passageways 30 and 3!. For instance, each of these passages can be connected with each of the radially extending air passages on either side of section A of the apparatus, the one being formed in the part by wall 21 being designated 32 and the one adjacent wall 28 being designated 33.

Communication between passages 30 and 3| and radial passages 32 and 33 is controlled by under one set of operating con- 7 four valves Al, A2, A3, and A4 interconnected in a manner to be described to open and close in a certain order. cated on wa1l 2|,.while valves A3 and A4 are located on wall 28. At this point is may be stated that these valves are so operated that air entering a conditioning section from one of the radial passages must pass through conditioning material 29 before it can reach the other radial passage. Moreover, air entering a section from one radial passage cannot flow back into the other end of the same radial passage but must flow into the radial-passage on the opposite side of the section.

As will be seen from Figure 2, there is also an annular passageway in each corner of the annular chamber-formed by the insulating walls 2 I, 22,

There Valves Al and A2 are 10- 1 23 and 24. These passageways have been designated 34, 35, 36 and 31 for reference purposes and extend completely around the apparatus. Each of the annular passageways has a conduit 36', 35', 36' and 31', respectively, leading to the exterior of the apparatus. As in the case of the radially extending passages, each of the .annular passages is in communication optionally with each of the air conditioning chambers. Thus, passageway 34 communicates with the outer air passageway 30 within conditioning'chamber A by means of valve A5. Also passageway 35 is in From the foregoing it will be evident that two streams of air may be passed through the condi= tioning chambers at different times in any one of four directions. Thus, air may flow from radial passageway 32 through valve Al into passage 30, through material 29 into passageway 3|, and past valve A4 into radial passage 33. On the other hand, air may flow from passageway 33 through valve A3 into passageway 30, then through material 29 into passageway 3|, and into chamber 32 through valve A2. Likewise, an entirely different stream of air may be passed through the conditioning chamber in either direction. For example, the air might flow from passageway 34 through valve A5 into passage 38 and through the material 29 into passage 3| and through valve Al into passageway 31. In order to pass air in the opposite direction, it would flow from passageway 35 through valve A6 into passage 3|, through material 33 into passage 30 and then through valve A8 into passage 36. In other words, gases may pass diagonally through each of thetreatin'g chambers A, B, C, D, E, F, G or H from the four opposite corners in both the horizontal and the vertical planes.

It will also be understood that the air might be caused to flow through the conditioning chambers in other manners according to the setting of the various valves.

In order to accomplish the purposes of this invention, it is important that the various valves controlling communication between each of the conditioning chambers and the air passageways communicating therewith be controlled in a very definite manner. The mechahisms which are proposed to accomplish this will now be described.

-It will be understood of course that each of the chambers A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H are identical in construction. Moreover, each of the chambers is provided with identical valve control mechansims. As will be apparent from Figure 1, this valve mechanism is largely located in the radially extending passageways between the conditioning chambers. shafts extending radially from the center of the apparatus. Located at the axis of the apparatus is a power shaft 46 driven by means of a motor 3! through speed reducing gears 42. Secured to this shaft is a bevel gear 43 positioned to drive each one of the eight shafts extending radially to the valve mechanisms. Thus, shaft 44 extends to the valve mechanism located between All valves are operated by sections A and B. Valves A8, A4, Bl, B2, A1, A8, B5 and B6 are all operated from shaft 44. The manner in which A3, BI, A8 and B5 are operated will now be described in detail.

Referring to Figures 3 to 6 wherein valves A3, A8, BI and B5 are shown as they appear from a view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1, it will be seen that each of the valves consists of a flat plate adapted, when closed, to lie fiat against a wall separating the radial air passages from the conditioning material. For example, A3 is supported by partition 28 and is spring pressed by means of springs and 46 against this partition to close the opening 51 therethrough. Valves A3 and BI move in a plane parallel to the supporting partitions when opening and closing. Valves A8 and B5 may open in the same manner as valves A3 and BI i Valves A3 and BI are actuated by a cam 48 rigidly mounted on shaft M. This operation is accomplished when the high portion of the cam strikes pins 5| and 52 secured to link members 53 and 39, respectively. Thus as will be seen from Figure 3, the high portion of cam 48 is positioned beneath pin 5| on link 56 so as to move valve Bl to open position against the action of springs 45 and 46. In Figure 4 it will be seen that cam 58 has revolved 180 degrees to contact pin 52 on link 49 and thus move valve A3 to open position. Meanwhile, and before A3 opened, the springs on valve Bl have urged it to closed position. As will be observed from the drawings, the high surface of the cam 48 is approximately degrees in arcuate extent. Hence, each of the valves is open for one-quarter revolution of shaft 44.

The mechanism for operatingvalves A8 and B5 is similar to that just described in connection with valves A3 and BI. These valves are operated by means of a second cam 53 attached to shaft 44 and positioned to contact a pin 54 on a motion transmitting member 55 extending vertical-.

ly in air passageway 33. The upper end of member 55 is connected through a linkage 56 to valve B5, while the lower end is connected through a similar linkage 51 to valve A8. When the high portion of cam 53 contacts pin 54, arm 55 is carried upwardly to move linkage 56 about pivot 58 in sucha manner as to open valve B5. At the same time valve A8 is also opened in a similar manner. At this point, attention is called to the fact that valves A8 and B5 are always operated simultaneously to either closed or opened position. On. the other hand, valves A3 and BI are' never operated simultaneously, and one always remains closed. Attention is further called to the fact that the high portion of cam 53 is much shorter in ,arcuate extent than the high portion of cam 48. Also note that valves A8 and B5 are only open when valves A3 and BI are closed (see Figure 5).

Valves A4, B2, A! and B6 are operated by a mechanism identical with that just described. However, the cams for operating these valves corresponding to cams 48 and 53, are positioned to operate the valves in a different timed sequence than that just described in connection with valves A3, Bl, B5 and A8.

A preferred manner of operating the numerous valves of my apparatus in timed sequence will now be described. In order to permit of a clear understanding of the valves and the order in which the same operate, the apparatus of Figures 1 and 2 has been illustrated in an exploded the apparatus.

manner indicated by the arrows inFigure 8.

7 indicates the manner in which the apparatus has been unfolded to bring all valves into a single plane. Thus, it will be noted that the side walls, top and bottom of the apparatus has been unrolled. Then the top portion of the apparatus has been folded upwardly, and the bottom has been folded downwardly. Figure 9 is identical with Figure 8 except that a second position of the valves and the resulting modified gas circuits are there indicated. Note that the shaded rectangles indicate open valves, while the unshaded rectangles indicate closed valves.

Assuming that it is desired to condition a body of air by removing excess moisture therefrom, the apparatus which has just been described may be operated in the following manner. Moist air, as from the atmosphere, is conducted into the annular passageway 34 through the inlet 34. This air stream passes along passageway 34 until it comes to open valve A in the first drying sec tion A. (At this time attention is called to the fact that no more than one valve is ever open in any one of the'annular passages 34, 35, 36 and 31.) This moist air then passes through the absorbent material in section A into passageway 3 I. The only exit from this chamber is provided through open valve A4, since valves AI A2 and A3, as well as valves A6, A1 and A8 are closed as shown in Figure 8. The partially dried air which flows out through valve A4 is led into the neXt conditioning chamber B through the open valve Bl. The air is again led through the conditioning material in this chamber and exits therefrom through valve B4 in a still dryer condition. In like manner,,the air to be conditioned passes through chambers Cand D. However, in chamber D it. will be noted that all valves except DI and-D6 are in closed position. Valve DBis located in the annular passageway 35 in the top of Hence, the air, which by this time has been fullydried, passes along passageway 35 to exit conduit35'.

It will be noted that the air to be conditioned has only passed through four of the eight air conditioning chambers. The other four chambers will have been saturated with moisture from previous use in conditioning air, and will be in need of reactivation. To. this end, warm air from any convenient source is led into passageway 31 through opening 31', and passes thereaiong until it reaches the open valve E1 in section E. The conditioning material in thissection will be substantially saturated with water vapor. The hot air passing through this material and out through the only openvalve E3 into th air passageway between sections E and F and drives oif a part of the moisture. This hotair containing some moisture from the material in section E then passes through each Of the sections F, G and H in the Upon reaching section H, the air passes through the material in this chamber, and since all valves except the valve H8 are in closed position, the air passes iiito passageway 36 and therealong until it reaches outlet conduit 36'.

It will therefor be seen that while four of the conditioning chambers are being employed to dry air, the remaining four chambers are being reactivated by hot gases for subsequent use in conditioning air. In order that the air may be conditioned in a continuous manner, it isof course desirable to introduce periodically a dry body of absorbent material in the 'air drying cycle, and to remove saturated absorbent material to the reactivating cycle. This operation is automatically accomplished without actually transferring the absorbent material, as has been customary heretofore, simply by operating the various valves described hereinabove. At the end of a predetermined period of time, as dictated by experience, the cams 48 and 53 on the eight motor-driven shafts similar to. shaft 44 are brought into position to change the condition of certain of the valves. This operation is indicated in Figure 9. Referring to this figure, it will be seen that the moist air entering the apparatus no longer enters section A, because valve A5 is now in closed position. The only valve in passageway 34 which is Open is valve B5 in section B. Consequently, the moist air now flows through sections B, C, D and E. As will be seen from Figure 8, section E was previously in the activation cycle, but has now been placed in the drying cycle by reason of the operation of the valves. After the air has passed through section E, it passes into passageway 35 through open valve E6 and is conducted from the apparatus to the space to be conditioned. Likewise, the hot air employed to recondition the absorbent mate rial first passes into section F, and from there to sections G and H. From this point the air next passes through section A which has just been saturated with moisture in th drying cycle. From this point the air, which is now substantially saturated with moisture and is therefore no longer effective in reactivating absorbent material, passes into passageway 36 and out .into

same manner, and it will be appreciated that the air to be conditioned is always led through four chambers, and that hot air is always being passed through the remainin four chambers to reactivate the material therein. It will also be observed that a freshly conditioned drying section is always periodically added to the end of the stream of air being conditioned, and also that the wettest and least effective of the drying chambers is periodically added to the end of the re activating air stream to be reconditioned. Due to this fact, the air being dried always passes through freshly dried absorbent material immediately before passing from the apparatus and is therefore dried to a maximum degree. By the same token, a body of saturated absorbent material is added to the reactivating cycle at the exit end thereof where the reactivating air is the wettest and remains in the reactivating air stream for a maximum period of time. Therefore, the counterfiow principle is realized in the drying and reactivating zones in that the wettest air and wettest absorbent medium, and the dryest air and the dryest absorbent medium are brought into operative relationship in each air path.

It is of course obvious that the apparatus can be used to condition air in other ways than that of drying it. If it is desired to heat a body of air by means of hot gases which are unsuitable for use in the space to be heated, this same apparatus may be utilized simply by replacing the absorbent material by some material having high heat capacity. For example, aluminum foil may be substituted for the absorbent material in the conditioning chambers of the apparatus. In this event, the air to be conditioned is passed through four sections of the apparatus in the same manner as the moist air in the above described drying operation. At the same time a stream of hot air or other hot gases is passed through the remaining four sections of the apparatus in the manner just described in connecin these chambers has been heated for a period of time, the valves are operated to the position shown in Figure 9. Cold air to be conditioned by heating is now passed through sections B, C, D and E. The air will be partially heated by passing through section E, but after the apparatus has been in operation for a perod of time, all of the four sections through which the air to be heated passes will have been previously heated by the hot gas stream and will be in condition to heat the cold air stream. Not only is the air conditioned by heating during this operation, but the relative humidity of the air is also reduced by reason of the heating so that the resultant air stream is much warmer and drier than the original cold and moist air stream.

In order that an airconditioning device of the type herein disclosed be compact, emcient in operation, and ofier a minimum resistance to the passage of gases therethrough, it is essential that the material selected for the conditioning chambers have certain characteristics and that it be specially arranged in the apparatus. Not only should the material be so arranged as to offer a minimum resistance, to the flow of air through the device, but it should also be so arranged as to present a maximum surface area to the air stream. If the material is intended to remove moisture from the air, then it is important to select a material which has the property of absorbing and liberating moisture'with Very slight changes in temperature. If the conditioning her. In other words, the material has been found to be sufficiently porous to permit the air to filter therethrough in spite of the absence of any preformed perforations in the sheets. However, if desired, the" sheets of wood or paper may be perforated to permit a greater quantity of air to pass, although I have found that this is quite unnecessary.

In order to decrease the resistance to the air iiow further and to present a greater surface area of the conditioning material to the air stream, I find it advantageous to arrange the sheets of material in zigzag fashion across the air stream.

material is intended for use in the regenerative I have found that ordinary wood, paper, and

other cellulose products are especially efllcient materials for-use in anair conditioning device. It will of course be understood that this invention is not limited to the use of wood and paper as absorbent materials, but that these materials are employed in the preferred form of the invention due to the ease with which these materials may be placed in the conditioning chambers, the rapidity with which these materials absorb and liberate moisture, the slight temperature difference required to cause thea'naterial to act either as an absorbent body or-as a moisture liberating body, as well as the cheapness and availability of these materials. If wood or paper of sufficient thickness to have some rigidity is employed, I have found that sheets thereof may be arranged entirely across the conditioning chambers in the This arrangement not only increases the surface area of the material several times in a given cross sectional area of air duct, but also increases the number of pores through which the air may filter 'several fold. As is indicated in Figure 1, any

desired number of sheets of absorbent material may be nested together in slightly spaced relationship across each of the conditioning chambers, but it is desirable and quite feasible in my apparatus to place only a small number of sheets in each chamber and recycle the apparatus oftener. Anyconvenient way of supporting the sheets of absorbent material in the chambers may be employed, as for example, wire rods located in the constricted portions or apices of the corrugations. It will be noted from section A of Figure 1 for example, that all of the air entering passageway 30, for instance, must flow through each of the sheets of absorbent material 29 in order to reach passageway 3|. Due to the tremendous surface area of the absorbent material presented to the air stream, it is only necessary that the air filter slowly through a'given section of the material in order that a stream of considerable volume reach passageway 3|. Moreover, all of the airmust come in contact with absorbent material, and as a result the moist air is quickly stripped of its moisture.

In order to still further increase the surface area of the sheets of absorbent material, the

sheet may be preformed as shown in Figure 11.

In addition to the large corrugation 60 corresponding to the corrugations in the sheets of Figure 1, the side walls of the large corrugation 60 are also corrugated with small indentations 6|. Both the large corrugation 60 and the small corrugation iii are V-shaped. Therefore, regardless of whether the air flows in the direction indicated by the arrows of Figure 11, or in the reverse direction, the air stream entering either the large corrugation 60 or the small corrugation 6i enters at a point of maximum cross sectional area. As the air stream proceeds into the corrugation, the cross. sectional area gradually decreases in accordance with the diminishing quantity of air which has not yet filtered through the sheet.

If itis desired to employ the conditioner as a heat regenerator I have found that a most advantageous way of arranging the material of high heat capacity is in the manner indicated in Figure 10. A particularly desirable material to use for this purpose is aluminum foil. This material is relatively inexpensive and. easily worked into any desired form. Moreover, it is not affected by moisture or other materials ordinarily present in. air to be conditioned, or in the hot ases available as a source of heat. It also as a very high heat capacity and excellent h at conductivity. 1

In order to present as large a surface area of this material as possible to the gas stream in a minimum of space, and without providing too much resistance to the flow of the gases, the foil may be out in relatively narrow strips 62 and corrugated at an angle to a longitudinal side of the strip in the manner indicated in Figure 10. The corrugated strips are then laid one on top of the other with the corrugations of adjacent strips running at an angle to one another as clearly shown in the drawings. This arrangement results in the spacing of the strips without the use of separate spacers and prevents the nesting of the strips. This mode of assembly is continued to provide units of convenient height, and then the units are inserted crosswise of the conditioning chambers-that is, in a direction transversely of the air stream flowing between passages 30 and 3|, for instance. A number of such units may be located across the conditioner chamber parallel to one another as in the case of the sheet absorbent material, if desired, Or the strips of foil maybe originally cut sumciently wide to extend from the inner to the outer air passages 30 and 3| of the conditioning chambers. As is .true of the absorbent material, the air stream passing through the treating chamber does not flow rapidly, but gradually filters from the inlet packed too tightly to permit the air to flltertherethrough readily. So long as the individual sheets diagrammatic representations of the manner in.

which one absorber and one regenerator of the ype described hereinabove may be innerconnected with an enclosure to be conditioned and with certain auxiliary devices'to condition air in a continuous and highly efiicient manner. By reason of the use of the regenerative heater in connection with my absorber, it is entirely pracpassage to the outlet passage in contact with the Still another method of arranging the absorbent material in the apparatus is illustrated in Figure 12. According to this arrangement, loose absorbent material, such as fullers earth or silica gel 63, may be supported in a thin layer between two sheets 64 of wire mesh, fabric or other suitable material. The resulting laminated sheet may be corrugated in the manner hereinabove described in connection with Figures 1 and 11. As was the case with these arrangements, it is desirable to provide supports such as rods 65 in the troughs of at least certain of the corrugations in order to support the sheets in avertical and tical to condition a room with little or no expenditure of energy other than the small amount" required to operate the valve mechanisms of the two conditioners, and thesmall amount of 'auxiliary energy desirableunder certain conditions to supplement and assist the vfunctioning of the absorber and regenerative heater.. jIf'the relalow forty or fifty per cent, it is unnecessary to use any of the auxiliary devices with the possible exception of a simple meansi'or passing a part of the air through a water spray or other moistening device to cool the air by evaporative cooling. Under these circumstances the absorber and regenerative heater may be connected to a space to be conditioned and to the outside atmosphere in the manner illustrated in Figure 14.

It will be understood that the absorber and regenerative heater are identical in construction except that the conditioning chambers of the absorber are charged with'absorbent material, and the regenerator is charged with material of high heat capacity. Both units an; constructed as described hereinabove. It is therefore thought sufllcient ii the discussion of Figures 14 and 15 is restricted to a description of the manner in which the apparatus illustrated operates to conrigid position. However, use of the'rods may v be dispensed within certain cases as where wire mesh 64 is employed provided the two opposing layers of mesh are secured together at intervals by suitable ties not shown.

Still another manner in which the conditioning chambers may be charged with absorbent material is illustrated in Figure 13. According to this form of the invention. the units of absorbent material are formed from layers of crepe paper out in a zigzag manner as shown. The individual strips of crepe paper are then placed directly on top of one another until a unit of convenient size is obtained. It is important, of course, that the grain or crepe of the paper extend crosswise of the strips in the manner indicated in the drawings. The crepe paper units are placed crosswise of the conditioning chambers in the same manner as sheet 29 in Figure 1, and as many units may be placed parallel to one another as is found desirable. The individual units should not extend too far vertically without some means of supporting the units as otherwise the weight of the paper will cause the lower layers to become ditlon air when the relative humidity is below a predetermined value, and also when the relative humidity is above this same'value.

Referring first to Figurel'i, it will be seen that air to be conditioned, as from the room 10, may be led through conduit H to regenerator 12. Ap-

proximately one-quarter of the air delivered from 3 iv the regenerator is then by-passedthrough a suitair stream plus the make-up air is conditioned as I it passes through the regenerator. As previously stated, a certain portion of the air stream discharged from the regenerator is diverted through the moistening and cooling device 13, of any suitable construction, by means of the dividing partition 14 and valve 15 located in conduit II.

The remaining portion of the air discharged from the regenerator is led through conduit 16 into the absorber '11 wherein the moisture contained in the air is absorbed or separated from the air If moist air is being passed g this air through conduit 82.

I through conduit 80.

The absorber is reconditioned by means of the warm air derived from either room I8 or the atmosphere, or from both sources. The air from the room is led to the absorber through conduit 8|, and air from the atmosphere is mixed with The relative proportions of room and atmospheric air may be regulated at will by means of the valve at the junction of conduits 81 and'82. This air passes through the absorber in the manner indicated by the dotted line, and passes back to the atmosphere through conduit 83.

It is of course necessary to provide some means of circulating the various. air streams just described through the apparatus and to the space being conditioned. As shown in Figure 14, three fans may be utilized and disposed as indicated, although it will b understood that other arrangements may be employed and the fans may be disposed in other locations to satisfy the requisites of a given situation. As shown, a fan 16' is located in conduit 16 between the regenerator and diversion valve I5. Fan 76' is preferably driven by a reversible motor, not shown, and is so designed as to cause air flow in either direction in conduit I6. Also inserted in the same air stream is a second similar fan 18' which is intended to assist and supplement fan 16' in circulating air from room 18 through the regenerator and absorber, and back to the room. If desired, another reversible fan may be located in conduit l8 or 80 to assist fan 16' in circulating the smaller air stream through cooler 13 and the regenerator. A third fan 83 which need not be of the reversible type, is shown in conduit 83 for circulating reactivating air through the absorber and discharging the same to the atmosphere.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the air leaves the room at a temperature of T1, which is too high for human comfort. After the air has passed through the regenerator it will have been cooled to atemperature' T2, which is much lower than T1. This cooled air is then led to the absorber where it is dried, and consequently warmed somewhat by the heat of absorption. Therefore, the temperature T3 of the air being returned to the room through conduit 18 is intermediate T1 and T2. Moreover, in addition to the fact that the temperature has been reduced, it will also.be appreciated that the air is much drier then it was upon leaving the room. Therefore, by reason of the operation of the apparatus, the temperature, relative humidity, and absolute humidity of the air have been modified without the expenditure of any energy other than that contained in the atmospheric air and that expended to operate the control valves of the apparatus. Moreover, this operation may be carried out continuously withoutany attention whatsoever and in a very eilicient manner.

If the relative humidity of the air in the space to be conditioned, or from any other source, has a relative humidity above approximately forty or fifty per cent, it may become desirable to supply auxiliary energyto the apparatus in order to obtain the most efiective and efflcient results. This niay be done by the same apparatus illustrated in Figure '14 provided certain valves in the interconnecting conduits are modified to change the circulation of the various air streams so as to include an auxiliary source of heat. Figure 15 accordingly shows the sameapparatus as Figure 14, but with the valves in the new position. Fans 18' and 16' are now reversed by a suitable means, while fan 83' continues to operate in the same direction, and new air circuits are established as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 15. The air flows in the direction indicated by the arrows. By reason of the operation of the fans. it will be observed that moist air from either room 10 or the atmosphere may be conveyed directly to the absorber 11 through conduits 8| and 82, This air stream passes through the absorber where it is dried and warmed somewhat by the heat of absorption. Valve 84 in conduit 83 is now positioned to direct the warm, dry air through conduit 85 into conduit 16. Valve 86 which was previously adjusted to a vertical position in Figure 14 is now in a horizontal position and directs the warm dry air stream downwardly through conduit 16, past valve 15, which is now closed, into the regenerator. As a result, the warm dry air stream is cooled and led from the regenerator by conduit ll into an air moistening device 88.

,in the event additional cooling is desired. It will be understood that moistener 88 may be of any desirable type in which cooling is obtained by the evaporation of a liquid, such as water. The air in conduit H is diverted through moistener 88 by means of valve 89, and, after being further cooled and moistened somewhat, is conveyed through conduit 90 back to room 10 in a cooled, moderate ly moist condition.

In order'to obtain cooling of the conditioned air stream in the regenerator, cool atmospheric.

somewhat by the heat stored in the aluminum foil through which the conditioned air stream has just passed. This warm atmospheric air stream may then be further heated if desired in the artificial heater 82, after which it is led through conduit 93 to the absorber H for the purpose of reactivating the previously saturated absorbent material therein. The hot air stream is caused to flow into the absorber by reason of the new position of valve 84 in conduit 93. After passing through the absorber, the warm air carrying the moisture liberated from the absorbent material is discharged back to the atmosphere through conduit 95.

The supplemental heat added to the air in conconvenient source. 'of combustion or other waste warm gases are available, .these may be passed through heater 82 in heat exchange relation with the air from conduit I8 in any convenient manner. Obviously, heater 92 may be heated in any other known manner, as by employing solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel.

It will therefore be appreciated that I have provided an air conditioning device functioning in accordance with -a principle, in which by far the major portion of the energy required is derived from the heat contained in the atmospheric air or the air to be conditioned. It has long been known that atmospheric air contained an enormous quantity of energy, and by the use of For instance, if hot products the apparatus just described I am enabled to employ this energy advantageously to condition other air. I have also provided auxiliary devices for supplementing and augmenting the energy available from the atmosphere whenever this may be desirable in order to increase the general efiiciency and efiectiveness of my apparatus.

Furthermore, I have not only provided an air conditioning apparatus incorporating and comprising a novel arrangement of an absorber and a rcgenerator, but I have also devised both a new absorber and a new regenerator incorporating many novel features not heretofore known or used. And while I have described what I consider a preferred manner of constructing and operating both the individual units and a combination thereof, yet it will be obvious that the various valves and other component elements may be assembled and operated in other manners, each of which has particular advantages in certain applications and under the special conditions then prevailing.

I claim:

1. An air conditioning apparatus comprising a xed unitary housing having a plurality of conditioning chambers therein, means in said housing forming passageways for passing independent streams of air through certain of said chambers and for progressively shifting said streams from one roup of chambers to another in order to" progressively recondition said chambers and to progressively restore reconditioned chambers to one of said air streams, each of said chambers containing a plurality of thin porous sheets of cellulose material having the ability to absorb moisture from air.

2. An air conditioning apparatus comprising a fixed unitary housing having a plurality of conditioning chambers therein, mean in said housing forming passageways for passing independent streams of air through certain of said chambers, one of said streams being a stream undergoing conditioning and the other stream acting to reactivate conditioning material in said chambers, means operable to progressively shift said streams from one group of chambers to another for the purpose of progressively reconditioning said chambers and for progressively restoring reconditioned chambers to the path of the air stream undergoing conditioning, said chambers containing a plurality of semi-nested corrugated sheets of hygroscopic material in the path of the air stream flowing therethrough, said material .being sufficiently permeable to the air stream to permit passage of the same through the material.

3. An air conditioning apparatus including a chamber for drying air; said chamber having an air inlet and an air outlet, hygroscopic material in said chamber intermediate said inlet and outlet comprising thin porous sheets of cellulosic material of zig-zag formation arranged parallel to and on top of one another crosswise of the chamber to form a stack whose surface area is materially greater than the cross sectional area of said chamber.

4. Absorbent material for use in gas separation apparatus comprising strips of crepe paper out in zig-zag formation and so that the crepe or rain of the paper extends crosswise of the strips, said strips being placed one on top of another to form a stack. and said strips and crepes cooperating with on another to provide minute gas passageways from one side of said stack to the other whereby when a mixture of gases for one of which casing forming a plurality of inlet and outlet passageways to said bodies, valve means for controlling communication between each of said bodies of treating material and each of said passageways, and means for actuating said valves to form a pair of air fiow paths serially through each of a plurality of said bodies of treating material and for periodically shifting the entrance bodies of material in each of said air flow paths to the exit portions of the other of said air flow paths.

6. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a stationary unitary annular housing having a plurality of air conditioning cells spaced annularly within said housing, conduit means between each adjacent cell, a pair of annular conduits above and below said cells and a valved opening connecting each conduit with each cell.

7. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a stationary unitary annular housing having a plurality of air conditioning cells spaced annularly within said housing,-conduit means between each adjacent cell, a pair of annular conduits above and below said cells and a valved opening connecting each conduit witheach cell, said conduits being arranged for passin independent streams of air through certain of said cells and said valves being arranged for progressively shifting said streams from one cell to the next adjacent cell.

8. A regenerative heater comprising a stationary unitary annular housing having a plurality of cells containing material of high heat capacity spaced annularly within said housing, conduit means between each adjacent cell, a pair or annular conduitsabove and below said cells and a valved opening connecting each conduit with each cell, said conduits being arranged for passing independent streams of fluid serially through said cells in contact with said material for the purpose of adding heat to or abstracting heat from the material and said cells being arranged for' periodically adding cells to and cutting cells out of. each of said streams without interrupting either of said streams.

9. An air conditioning apparatus of the type requiring periodic reconditioning of the air conditioning material therein, comprising a stationary unitary annular housing having a plurality of air conditioning cells spaced annularly within said housing, conduit means between each adjacent cell, a pair of annular conduits above and below said cells, a valved opening connecting each conduit with each cell, said valved opening being operable to provide an independent air stream serially through each of two banks of said cells and means for controlling said valved opening in such manner that a cell from each bank may be transferred from one bank to the other, the arrangement being suchthat a cell from the entrance end of one bank is exchanged with the exit cell of the other bank.

10. an air conditioning apparatus comprising a unitary housing, a plurality of interconnectible cells therein, conduit means for providing for the flow of two independent air streams through each of said cells and providing four openings to each cell, valve means for each of said openings and means for controlling said valve means to connect a plurality of cells into each air stream and conditionof an air stream in said cells, conduits for two independent air streams leading to said flxed housing, and valve mechanism automatically operable to control the passage of said two independent air streams through said cells, said mechanism functioning to pass one air stream over part of the material to continuously and progressively recondition a plurality of said cells while passing the other stream over the material in other of said cells to condition the stream for use in the enclosure.

12. An air conditioning apparatus of the type requiring periodic reconditioning of the air conditioning material therein, said apparatus comprising a fixed unitary casing-having two banks of conditioning cells therein interconnected by passageways for the passage of air streams therethrough, conditioning material in each 01' said cells, conduits leading to said fixed unitary casing for leading an independent air stream to each bank of cells, and valve mechanism associated with each bank of cells operable to pass one of said independent air streams serially through each bank and to periodically transi'er one cell from each of the banks to the other bank whereby one air stream is being continuously conditioned and the other stream serves continuously to recondition material for subsequent use in conditioning said one air stream.

13. The air conditioning apparatus as defined tary housing, means in said housing forming air passageways and providing a plurality of interconnectible cells, conduit means leading to said fixed unitary housing for leading two independent air streams thereto, valve means operable to pass one of said independent air streams serially through each of two banks of said cells, the

cells of one bank being exchangeable with cells in the other bank by operation of said valve means whereby ineffective cells in the air condi-' tioning bank may be exchanged for a freshly reconditioned cell from the reconditioning bank and one stream of air continuously conditioned while the other stream of air acts continuously to 'reconditon certain of the cells.

15. An air conditioning apparatus of the type requiring periodic reconditioning of the air conditioning material therein, comprising a fixed unitary housing, means in said housing forming passageways and providing a plurality of interconnectible cells, valve means operable to pass an independent air stream serially through each or two banks of said cells, means for controllin said valve means in such-manner that a cell from each bank may be transferred from one bank to the other, the arrangement being such that a cell from the entrance end of one bank is exchanged with the entrance cell of the other bank, one of said air streams serving to reactivate the cells of one bank for subsequent use in conditioning air in the other bank, while the other air stream is being conditioned in said other bank of cells.

16. A regenerative heaterl comprising a fixed unitary housing having a plurality of cells therein containing material of high heat capacity, conduit means for leading independent air streams to said fixed housing, means in said casing forming passageways for passing said independent air streams of fluid serially through said 7 cells in contact with said material for the purpose of adding heat to or abstracting heat from the material, means for periodically adding cells to and cutting cells out of each of said streams without interrupting v either of said streams, changing the position of said cells or changing the direction of fiow of either of said streams through the cells, said heat storing material comprising thin metallic sheets with corrugations therein and placed adjacent one another to provide small fluid passageways therebetween.

EDMUND ALTENKIRCH. 

